Now is the best time to invest in Cebu

(Photo courtesy of Arthaland)

(CNN Philippines) — Cebu is growing and the best time to invest there is now. This is what ArthaLand believes and is why the company is building an P8 billion Grade A green office project in the Queen City this year.

Driven by the tourism and IT-BPM industries, Cebu is one of the major contributors to the country’s gross domestic product. The province has a rich pool of talent. It has a literacy rate of 91.45% owing to the numerous quality schools, colleges, and universities in the area.

Cebu has one of the more advanced infrastructures among the key cities outside of Metro Manila. The Mactan-Cebu International Airport had the second largest share of visitor arrivals in the county at about 20.16% as of August of 2016. The airport serves direct flights to key destinations such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Taipei, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Seoul, Narita, Doha, and Los Angeles among others. To accommodate more passengers, construction of a $364 million second terminal 2 is underway.

To sustain and expand economic growth, the government and the private sector in Cebu are working together to improve and build more infrastructure in the province.

Cebu, located at the heart of the Philippines, is a strategic location for business growth. It is the preferred destination of national and multinational enterprises outside of Metro Manila. The city and province host several economic zones where locators churn out products exported to different parts of the globe.

All these contribute to Cebu’s viability as a haven for investment.

Major Investment

ArthaLand’s Cebu Exchange will soon rise on Salinas Drive at the IT Park area. It can contribute at least ₱7.2 billion in annual income for a potential 40,000 IT-BPM employees of its upcoming locators. This is apart from the economic multiplier effect of up to three to four jobs created per BPO employee.

Cebu Exchange is registered under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program as well as in the Philippine Green Building Council’s Building for Ecologically Responsive Design Excellence (BERDE) rating program. It is the first and only development in the Visayas and Mindanao region to be on target to achieve dual green building certification.

Certified green buildings benefit both the landlords and tenants. Cebu Exchange is designed to be resource and operations efficient. It will provide a healthier working environment to boost productivity and profit. Based on reports by global industry analysts, larger companies prefer to locate in green buildings for these reasons.

To ensure resource efficiency for the building’s locators, Cebu Exchange will feature green elements such as an efficient building envelope, water efficient plumbing system, low-energy air-conditioning system, efficient lighting system, use of low-emitting materials, and allocation for Low-Emitting and Fuel Efficient Vehicle (LEFEV) parking.

With its strategic location, the project is well connected to the rest of the community so it require less use of motorized vehicles.

IT-BPM hub

The Cebu IT Park area remains a viable location for the information technology and business process management industry as shown by the global locators operating in the district. This is proven by the low vacancy rate within the hub.

In a recent publication by the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP), the industry is set to grow from its 12.6% global market share in 2016 to 15.5% by 2022. It is expected to employ 1.8 million Filipinos and earn as much $38 billion by the end of the period.

While North America remains the core market, established and recognized brands from the Middle East, Europe, Australia, and the Pacific have come to rely on the expertise of the Philippine IT-BPM industry, according to the IBPAP.